Atari Unveils Its Newest Gaming Console

Rumours have been aplenty ever since Atari announced its first entry in the gaming industry since decades.

Keeping its promise, Atari is here to spill the beans on its first new console announcement in 24 years. While not an exhaustive press release of the console’s detailed features, we at least now know how the new Ataribox will look like, as well as some of its specs.

The Ataribox

The console’s design will pay homage to the Atari 2600, featuring a wood/glass front, as well as streaky lines at the top. There will also be a new version, which will be available in red and black rather than wood, perhaps emulating the Atari 7800, though it hardly evokes any similar emotions.

For connections, you get HDMI, Ethernet and four USB card slots, as well as SD card for expansion. There are also LEDs on the front to indicate the console’s status. As for the gaming library, Atari will feature classic gaming titles, similar to what Nintendo has done with its NES and SNES Classic consoles, as well as “current content”.

It is unclear whether “current content” would mean newer and better looking Atari games or something else entirely. The small form factor wouldn’t allow it to run games with Xbox One or PlayStation 4 level of graphical fidelity.

Price and Availability

Pricing and availability, among the rest of technical specifications are still anyone’s guess at the moment. Atari claims to take a measured and cautious approach as it moves towards the launch of the Ataribox, listening to feedback and taking direction from there. It is also worth noting that the Ataribox is not the outcome of the one of the company’s recent licensing efforts, rather coming from the core team itself and being a part of the mainstream effort.

Such releases are always welcome as they not only use the existing gaming library and are much cheaper because of that, but also introduce a new generation of gamers to classics from the past.